Parents outraged by new school rule for Valentines dance

Parents at an elementary school in Utah were outraged by new rules for the school Valentines Day dance. After they voiced their many concerns, the rules were changed.

According to BuzzFeed News: Natalie Richard took issue with a rule at her sixth-grade daughter’s Valentine’s Day dance — that tweens were not allowed to say “no” if someone asked them to dance.

Richard’s child attends Kanesville Elementary school in Ogden, Utah.

Several schools within the district host the dance every year, attendance is voluntary, and the sixth-graders are given cards to write down who they’d like to dance with.

“Students are instructed to select classmates to dance with and to write their names on the card,” the Weber School District explained to BuzzFeed News in a press release.

“Half of the selections are girl’s choice and the other half are boy’s choice, and students can’t dance with the same person more than once,” it read.

“Students are also told by their teacher that if a classmate asks to be on their card, they should be polite and respectful, and agree to dance with that person. This applies to all students regardless of gender.”

Lane Findlay, a community relations specialist for the district, said the rule was meant to encourage students to be “respectful” and “polite” to their peers.

Other parents also voiced their concerns. The report continues: On Monday, the district announced that it had changed its Valentine’s Day dance policy.“We certainly understand the concern and would never want to promote a mindset where students don’t feel like they have the option to say no,” the district said.

Now schools in the district have been told to “eliminate any sort of language in the instructions surrounding these dances that would suggest a student must dance with another student.”